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Great Moments in $2000 Challenge History: Retired Cruiser

Decommissioned police cars have made plenty of Challenge appearances, but this one was a bit different: It was based on the mid-sized Chevy Malibu, not the full-boat Impala. Despite the smaller footprint, this car was still powered by a 350.

But competing in a Malibu wasn’t all sunshine and white sand beaches for owner Andy Maass. A spun bearing prevented his 1983 model from making any autocross runs in 2004. The following year, transmission issues popped up during the drag runs-although the car still finished 31st out of 62 entrants overall. “I love these cars, but I needed an event like this to inspire me to get the old girl up and running,” Andy said after the 2005 event.

Make your own low-buck memories. Join us September 30–October 1 in Gainesville, Florida, for the Grassroots Motorsports $2016 Challenge Driven by General Tire and sponsored by CRC Industries, and Miller Electric. Visit grmchallenge.com for details.